Using psychometric assessment for smooth M&As

According to a leading psychologist, psychometric assessments can be invaluable to ensuring the success of mergers and acquisitions.

BY Chloe Taylor 04 Jun 2015

According to Cameron Nott, managing director and psychologist at CPP Asia-Pacific, psychometric assessments can prove invaluable during merger and acquisition (M&A) processes.

“Psychometric assessments can provide a number of insights into qualities such as resilience, flexibility, empathy and mental agility as well as many others, which together can help us understand an individual’s capacity to embrace change,” he said.

Nott emphasised, however, that psychometric assessments are “just one piece of the puzzle,” and that candidates’ real world experiences should also come into play in the assessment process.

Psychometric assessments can be very powerful in helping to smooth the M&A process, particularly across three levels of organisational structure.

1. Organisational level – in terms of integrating cultures.

How psychometric assessment can help: By providing those driving the change with broad insights to shape the planning and communication processes.

2. Team level – in terms of fast-tracking the effectiveness of new teams.

How psychometric assessment can help: By providing employees with greater levels of awareness of their needs and preferences during change as well as insights into their triggers and responses under stress.

3. Individual level – in terms of helping people manage their own personal experience in responding to the change, which can include stress.

How psychometric assessment can help: Where new teams emerge as a result of a merger, success and effectiveness can be fast-tracked by engaging in a team development program. This helps team members to better understand their own preferences, as well as to appreciate and leverage the differences in others’. Ultimately, this improves communication and the quality of decision making while reducing conflict.